Review: Zach Sobiech’s Legacy Lives On in ‘Clouds’

Clouds+is+streaming+now+on+Disney%2B

Photo source: Disney+

“Clouds” is streaming now on Disney+

Sarayu Suresh, Correspondent

In the Disney Plus biopic “Clouds,” director Justin Baldoni looks back at the story of Zach Sobiech, a teenage musician who died from a rare form of bone cancer in 2013. 

The movie starts with Zach (played by Fin Argus) narrating, “Most teenagers feel like they are invincible, not the superman kind. The kind of invincible that tricks you into thinking tomorrow is a better day to start chasing your dreams.” Throughout the movie, the theme of legacy connects the individual events of the story. 

During the movie, Zach’s song, “Clouds,” goes viral on Youtube, hitting number one on Apple music. In the song he says goodbye to his family and hits on some religious themes. The song, now sitting at eleven million views on Youtube, inspired this movie. 

The movie blends humor and sadness really well. Zach laughs about planning his funeral, but he still has emotional conversations with his friends and family. The plot meanders at times, but with the great music, interesting shots and incredible performances by the main cast, it’s hardly noticeable.

One of the best scenes in the movie is when the characters hear Zach’s song on the radio for the first time. The scene is inspired by the 1996 movie “That Thing You Do.” The scene really illustrates how grateful he is for everything he gets, and shows the family coming together, even when times are tough. 

While this movie does take some creative liberties, it sticks to the story of Zach Sobiech pretty well. Even the set is almost identical to his real bedroom. All of Zach’s close friends and family were on set during the film and worked closely with the actors portraying them. The director even met Zach before he died. 

This movie also understands the importance of Zach’s loved ones. Most of the side characters are well-developed and have their own arc during the story, including his best friend and bandmate (Sabrina Carpenter), his parents (Neve Campbell and Tom Everett Scott) and his girlfriend (Madison Iseman).

During Zach’s last performance he says, “I’m going to be remembered as the kid who went up fighting,” and this movie lets him be remembered as such.